We’ve been holding a series of online events for our survivors during the latest lockdown. Recently, COPS Trustee and professional genealogist Gary Lawrie (right) has introduced fellow survivors to the world of family history research through a virtual workshop.
Gary, who spent most of his career with Central Scotland Police and retired in 2016 as Superintendent at the Forth Valley Division, has since become a professional genealogist. His ‘Family History for Beginners’ workshop, hosted via Zoom, shared plenty of hints and tips on how to get started on researching family history.
“It was a very upbeat and positive meeting,” he said. “People had plenty of questions, and we had a really interesting discussion.
“It’s a great hobby and tailor-made for current times, when we can’t get out much. It’s not expensive either. Although you can take out a subscription to services like Ancestry.co.uk, there are plenty of free websites, and you can find out a lot just by searching the internet.”
Some people like to research their families as far back as they can; other people are more interested in things like where ancestors lived, where they moved from and why, or simply what their lives were like.
For survivor Janet Kitney, the session was a first, as she hadn’t used Zoom before. “I don’t work with computers, but actually found it was much simpler to join and take part than I thought. It was good to meet other survivors and was a really interesting session.
“I’ll definitely be following up. My husband, PC Laurence Brown, was in the Metropolitan Police and died on duty in 1990 when our daughter was just five months old. She’s 30 now, and over the years has wanted to find out more about her father’s family. I’m hoping to use some of the things I learnt at the session to start researching it for her.”
Gary’s top tips for researching your family history
- Write down what you already know about your family history
- Speak to older relatives to capture their stories and nuggets of information about your family
- Organise your paperwork – chances are you’ll accumulate a lot
- Cross reference things, so you can build up an accurate picture of the past. It’s a bit like assembling a jigsaw, making sure all the right pieces join up
- Most importantly, enjoy it – it can be a really rewarding hobby
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